Educating for the Future: a Freirean Response to Accountability in Higher Education

The system of higher education in the United States suffers from deficits in several generally agreed-upon categories, including affordability, access, effectiveness of teaching and learning, and usefulness of degrees awarded. Many recommended reforms, particularly those from mainstream sources, are problematic, however. Paulo Freire's philosophy of liberatory education is a valuable source for addressing this issue. His discussion of the banking system of education provides a useful lens through which to analyze some of the problems with the current system, as well as many recommended reforms, particularly calls for greater accountability for student learning. The problem-posing method of education that Freire advocates as a solution to the banking system, in turn, offers a valuable model upon which to draw in the attempt to propose an effective solution to problems in higher education in the US. I apply Freire's philosophy to the 2006 report by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education.